The Musical Language of Italian Opera, 1813-1859

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William Rothstein (Professor of Music Theory, Professor of Music Theory, Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York)

The Musical Language of Italian Opera, 1813-1859

William Rothstein (Professor of Music Theory, Professor of Music Theory, Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
12 March 2023

Theory of music & musicology; Romantic music (c 1830 to c 1900); Opera

Series: OXFORD STUDIES IN MUSIC THEORY

Though studying opera often requires attention to aesthetics, libretti, staging, singers, compositional history, and performance history, the music itself is central. This book examines operatic music by five Italian composersDLRossini, Bellini, Mercadante, Donizetti, and VerdiDLand one non-Italian, Meyerbeer, during the period from Rossini's first international successes to Italian unification. Detailed analyses of form, rhythm, melody, and harmony reveal concepts of musical structure different from those usually discussed by music theorists, calling into question the notion of a common practice. Taking an eclectic analytical approach, author William Rothstein uses ideas originating in several centuries, from the sixteenth to the twenty-first, to argue that operatic music can be heard not only as passionate vocality but also in terms of musical forms, pitch structures, and rhythmic patternsDLthat is, as carefully crafted music worth theoretical attention. Although no single theory accounts for everything, Rothstein's analysis shows how certain recurring principles define a distinctively Italian practice, one that left its mark on the German repertoire more familiar to music theorists.

By: William Rothstein (Professor of Music Theory Professor of Music Theory Queens College and The Graduate Center City University of New York)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 163mm, Width: 237mm, Spine: 42mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780197609682
ISBN 10: 0197609686
Series: OXFORD STUDIES IN MUSIC THEORY
Pages: 600
Publication Date: 12 March 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: What is there to analyze? Part One: La Via Italiana Chapter 1. The Anvil Chorus Chapter 2. Theoretical contexts I: Nineteenth-century theory Chapter 3. Theoretical contexts II: Schenker and Riemann Chapter 4. Rhythm and meter Chapter 5. Musical form Part Two: Rossini Chapter 6. Rossini's mediants Chapter 7. Tonal coherence in Rossini's Italian operas Chapter 8. Guillaume Tell Part Three: Between Rossini and Verdi Chapter 9. Bellini and the new diatonicism Chapter 10. Meyerbeer and the new chromaticism Chapter 11. Around 1840: Mercadante and Donizetti Part Four: Verdi's Sedici Anni Chapter 12. Ernani to Attila (1844-1846) Chapter 13. Rigoletto and Il trovatore (1851-1853) Chapter 14. Les vêpres siciliennes to Un ballo in maschera (1854-1859) Afterword: Verdi and His Predecessors Selected bibliography Index

William Rothstein is Professor of Music Theory at Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He previously taught at Amherst College, Oberlin College, and the University of Michigan. He is author of Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music and co-author (with Charles Burkhart) of Anthology for Musical Analysis. He has written and lectured extensively on music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with special emphasis on musical rhythm, Schenkerian theory and analysis, and nineteenth-century Italian opera.

Reviews for The Musical Language of Italian Opera, 1813-1859

To say that this book is highly anticipated is an understatement. Rothstein, a brilliant music theorist, engages with a vast array of past and present scholars, providing historical research and context for his operatic investigations. There is a lot of variety in this scholarly buffet--something for everyone's taste. -- Deborah Burton, Associate Professor, Boston University